The present invention relates to an inorganic-particle-dispersed sputtering target for use in the deposition of a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium, and particularly of a granular magnetic recording film of a hard disk adopting the perpendicular magnetic recording system; and to a sputtering target which generates minimal arcing when sputtering is performed with a magnetron sputtering device comprising a DC power source and which yields a low generation of particles caused by such arcing.